scholarly journals The evolution of hierarchical structure building capacity for language and music: a bottom-up perspective

Primates ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rie Asano
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Hierarchical Control ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Building Capacity ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Structure Building ◽  
Language And Music ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
Brain Architecture ◽  
The Brain

AbstractA central property of human language is its hierarchical structure. Humans can flexibly combine elements to build a hierarchical structure expressing rich semantics. A hierarchical structure is also considered as playing a key role in many other human cognitive domains. In music, auditory-motor events are combined into hierarchical pitch and/or rhythm structure expressing affect. How did such a hierarchical structure building capacity evolve? This paper investigates this question from a bottom-up perspective based on a set of action-related components as a shared basis underlying cognitive capacities of nonhuman primates and humans. Especially, I argue that the evolution of hierarchical structure building capacity for language and music is tractable for comparative evolutionary study once we focus on the gradual elaboration of shared brain architecture: the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits for hierarchical control of goal-directed action and the dorsal pathways for hierarchical internal models. I suggest that this gradual elaboration of the action-related brain architecture in the context of vocal control and tool-making went hand in hand with amplification of working memory, and made the brain ready for hierarchical structure building in language and music.

Hierarchical composition in complex object drawing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiru Makuuchi
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Hierarchical Structures ◽  
Target Object ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Complex Object ◽  
Complex Objects ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
Symbolic Cognition

Symbolic behaviours such as language, music, drawing, dance, etc. are unique to humans and are found universally in every culture on earth1. These behaviours operate in different cognitive domains, but they are commonly characterised as linear sequences of symbols2,3. One of the most prominent features of language is hierarchical structure4, which is also found in music5,6 and mathematics7. Current research attempts to address whether hierarchical structure exists in drawing. When we draw complex objects, such as a face, we draw part by part in a hierarchical manner guided by visual semantic knowledge8. More specifically, we predicted how hierarchical structure emerges in drawing as follows. Although the drawing order of the constituent parts composing the target object is different amongst individuals, some parts will be drawn in succession consistently, thereby forming chunks. These chunks of parts would then be further integrated with other chunks into superordinate chunks, while showing differential affinity amongst chunks. The integration of chunks to an even higher chunk level repeats until finally reaching the full object. We analysed the order of drawing strokes of twenty-two complex objects by twenty-five young healthy adult participants with a cluster analysis9 and demonstrated reasonable hierarchical structures. The results suggest that drawing involves a linear production of symbols with a hierarchical structure. From an evolutionary point of view, we argue that ancient engravings and paintings manifest Homo sapiens’ capability for hierarchical symbolic cognition.

Model and algorithm of hierarchical control of technical parameters of automatic spacecrafts at autonomous and complex tests

2019 ◽  
pp. 34-49
Author(s):  
V. M. Makarov
Keyword(s):  
Mathematical Model ◽  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Hierarchical Control ◽  
Statistical Control ◽  
Product Testing ◽  
Product Range ◽  
Technical Parameters ◽  
Ground Testing ◽  
The Mathematical Model ◽  
Independent Product

We consider the problem of rational statistical control technical parameters of automatic spacecraft (AKA) in the process of their ground testing in autonomous and complex testing in a three-tier hierarchical structure: independent product testing, independent testing systems and comprehensive testing of the AKA in general. The mathematical model of control, the formalized statement of a problem and algorithm of optimization of statistical control of sets of products and their technical parameters on hierarchy of working off is given. At the same time, the model and algorithm allow you to select the optimal product range of each level of the hierarchy from the sets that are subject to mandatory control, take into account the specified requirements for technical parameters and the results of monitoring the technical parameters of the lower levels of products when planning and carrying out control of the parameters of the higher levels.

Gamma response of the brain: a multifunctional oscillation that represents bottom-up with top-down processing

2001 ◽  
Vol 39 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 137-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Karakaş ◽  
C Başar-Eroğlu ◽  
Ç Özesmi ◽  
H Kafadar ◽  
Ö.Ü Erzengin
Keyword(s):  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals The aging mind: neuroplasticity in response to cognitive training

2013 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Cognitive Training ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Aging Brain ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Training Techniques ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Strategy Change ◽  
The Brain

Is it possible to enhance neural and cognitive function with cognitive training techniques? Can we delay age-related decline in cognitive function with interventions and stave off Alzheimer's disease? Does an aged brain really have the capacity to change in response to stimulation? In the present paper, we consider the neuroplasticity of the aging brain, that is, the brain's ability to increase capacity in response to sustained experience. We argue that, although there is some neural deterioration that occurs with age, the brain has the capacity to increase neural activity and develop neural scaffolding to regulate cognitive function. We suggest that increase in neural volume in response to cognitive training or experience is a clear indicator of change, but that changes in activation in response to cognitive training may be evidence of strategy change rather than indicative of neural plasticity. We note that the effect of cognitive training is surprisingly durable over time, but that the evidence that training effects transfer to other cognitive domains is relatively limited. We review evidence which suggests that engagement in an environment that requires sustained cognitive effort may facilitate cognitive function.

scholarly journals Moving beyond the distinction between concrete and abstract concepts

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1752) ◽  
pp. 20170144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence W. Barsalou ◽  
Léo Dutriaux ◽  
Christoph Scheepers
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual System ◽  
Frequent Patterns ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Theme Issue ◽  
Situated Action ◽  
Conceptual Processing ◽  
Individual Concepts ◽  
Directed Action ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Over Time

From the perspective of the situated conceptualization framework, the primary purpose of concepts is for categorizing and integrating elements of situations to support goal-directed action (including communication and social interaction). To the extent that important situational elements are categorized and integrated properly, effective goal-directed action follows. Over time, frequent patterns of co-occurring concepts within situations become established in memory as situated conceptualizations, conditioning the conceptual system and producing habitual patterns of conceptual processing. As a consequence, individual concepts are most basically represented within patterns of concepts that become entrained with specific kinds of physical situations. In this framework, the concrete versus abstract distinction between concepts is no longer useful, with two other distinctions becoming important instead: (i) external versus internal situational elements, (ii) situational elements versus situational integrations. Whereas concepts for situational elements originate in distributed neural networks that provide continual feeds about components of situations, concepts for situational integrations originate in association areas that establish temporal co-occurrence relations between situational elements, both external and internal. We propose that studying concepts in the context of situated action is necessary for establishing complete accounts of them, and that continuing to study concepts in isolation is likely to provide relatively incomplete and distorted accounts. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain’.

Post-Illumination Pupil Response as a Biomarker for Cognition in α-Synucleinopathies

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Oliver Steiner ◽  
Jan de Zeeuw ◽  
Sophia Stotz ◽  
Frederik Bes ◽  
Dieter Kunz
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functioning ◽  
Dopamine Transporter ◽  
Rem Sleep ◽  
Rem Sleep Behavior Disorder ◽  
Behavior Disorder ◽  
Cognitive State ◽  
Neurocognitive Disorder ◽  
Sleep Behavior ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
The Brain

Neurodegenerative processes in the brain are reflected by structural retinal changes. As a possible biomarker of cognitive state in prodromal α-synucleinopathies, we compared melanopsin-mediated post-illumination pupil responses (PIPR) with cognition (CERAD-plus) in 69 patients with isolated REM-sleep behavior disorder. PIPR was significantly correlated with cognitive domains, especially executive functioning (r = 0.417, p <  0.001), which was more pronounced in patients with lower dopamine-transporter density, suggesting advanced neurodegenerative state (n = 26; r = 0.575, p = 0.002). Patients with mild neurocognitive disorder (n = 10) had significantly reduced PIPR (smaller melanopsin-mediated response) compared to those without (p = 0.001). Thus, PIPR may be a functional—possibly monitoring—marker for impaired cognitive state in (prodromal) α-synucleinopathies.

The Effect of Familiarity on Neural Representations of Music and Language

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Avital Sternin ◽  
Lucy M. McGarry ◽  
Adrian M. Owen ◽  
Jessica A. Grahn
Keyword(s):  
Language Processing ◽  
Instrumental Music ◽  
Training Period ◽  
Neural Representations ◽  
Music And Language ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Language And Music ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Musical Memory ◽  
The Brain

Abstract We investigated how familiarity alters music and language processing in the brain. We used fMRI to measure brain responses before and after participants were familiarized with novel music and language stimuli. To manipulate the presence of language and music in the stimuli, there were four conditions: (1) whole music (music and words together), (2) instrumental music (no words), (3) a capella music (sung words, no instruments), and (4) spoken words. To manipulate participants' familiarity with the stimuli, we used novel stimuli and a familiarization paradigm designed to mimic “natural” exposure, while controlling for autobiographical memory confounds. Participants completed two fMRI scans that were separated by a stimulus training period. Behaviorally, participants learned the stimuli over the training period. However, there were no significant neural differences between the familiar and unfamiliar stimuli in either univariate or multivariate analyses. There were differences in neural activity in frontal and temporal regions based on the presence of language in the stimuli, and these differences replicated across the two scanning sessions. These results indicate that the way we engage with music is important for creating a memory of that music, and these aspects, over and above familiarity on its own, may be responsible for the robust nature of musical memory in the presence of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Hierarchical Dynamical Model for Multiple Cortical Neural Decoding

2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 1372-1401
Author(s):  
Xi Liu ◽  
Xiang Shen ◽  
Shuhang Chen ◽  
Xiang Zhang ◽  
Yifan Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Neural Pathway ◽  
Neural Recordings ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
The Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Brain States ◽  
Heavy Tailed ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Motor brain machine interfaces (BMIs) interpret neural activities from motor-related cortical areas in the brain into movement commands to control a prosthesis. As the subject adapts to control the neural prosthesis, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), upstream of the primary motor cortex (M1), is heavily involved in reward-guided motor learning. Thus, considering mPFC and M1 functionality within a hierarchical structure could potentially improve the effectiveness of BMI decoding while subjects are learning. The commonly used Kalman decoding method with only one simple state model may not be able to represent the multiple brain states that evolve over time as well as along the neural pathway. In addition, the performance of Kalman decoders degenerates in heavy-tailed nongaussian noise, which is usually generated due to the nonlinear neural system or influences of movement-related noise in online neural recording. In this letter, we propose a hierarchical model to represent the brain states from multiple cortical areas that evolve along the neural pathway. We then introduce correntropy theory into the hierarchical structure to address the heavy-tailed noise existing in neural recordings. We test the proposed algorithm on in vivo recordings collected from the mPFC and M1 of two rats when the subjects were learning to perform a lever-pressing task. Compared with the classic Kalman filter, our results demonstrate better movement decoding performance due to the hierarchical structure that integrates the past failed trial information over multisite recording and the combination with correntropy criterion to deal with noisy heavy-tailed neural recordings.

The Boundaries of Babel

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Moro
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Structure ◽  
Linear Order ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Recursive Procedure ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

One of the major discoveries of modern linguistics is that languages do not vary arbitrarily: for example, all syntactic rules must be based on hierarchical structure generated by recursive procedure rather than linear order. Neuroimaging techniques have shown that these formal restrictions constituting the boundaries of Babel are in fact represented in the brain for people who learn non-recursive artificially designed rules do not involve those neural circuits that underpin language computation. The boundaries of Babels cannot be cultural and arbitrary.

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